Tainan city gov't to designate every Friday as 'bicycle day'

TAINAN, Taiwan -- The Tainan city government announced yesterday that it will designate every Friday as "bicycle day," starting Aug. 15, in an effort to conserve energy and cut carbon emissions.

Government officials said that on "bicycle day," city staff will be required to take the bus, ride bicycles or walk to work instead of driving or riding motorcycles.

The Tainan city government is the first public office to take such an initiative in the nationwide energy conservation campaign.

The city government said 51 percent of its employees have indicated that they will be able to participate in "bicycle day," while 49 percent said that they will have difficulty doing so.

Those who said they will have difficulty cited reasons such as frequent bicycle thefts, lack of bus stops near their homes, the need to use cars to transport their children to and from school, long distances to the city government offices and the inability to ride a bicycle.

Some female employees said they were unwilling to walk or ride bicycles to work because of personal safety concerns, while others pointed to the poor quality of the city's roads.

The officials said that staff members who have problems cooperating with the initiative could report to their superiors, and the government will help them overcome their difficulties. Meanwhile, the launch of "bicycle day" will proceed as planned, the officials said.